Use of alkaline proteases in industrial textile laundering processes

ABSTRACT

The use of alkaline bacillus proteases in commercial laundry methods and compositions containing these proteases for commercial laundering are described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/413/724, filed Mar. 31, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the use of alkaline proteases in commercial laundry methods and to compositions for use in commercial laundry methods which contain alkaline proteases.

The textile detergents used in commercial laundries differ in many ways from the detergents normally used domestically. Commercial laundries employ large washer systems which operate either cyclically in response to a timer or continuously and have a very high laundry throughput. These commercial washer systems use different detergent combinations depending on the type op textile and the degree of soiling with the detergent being dispensed in measured amounts into the washing solution in various washing stages such as wetting, prewashing, clear washing and rinsing. The need to utilize water and energy economically has made it necessary to develop for commercial laundering special partly formulated detergent combinations which can be adjusted optimally for the particular washing stage depending on the type and soiling of the textiles to be washed.

It has long been known to use protease-containing detergent compositions in commercial laundries, for example for cleaning hospital laundry contaminated with blood or protective clothing from meat-processing operations. Because the conditions in commercial laundry methods are more severe than in domestic washing machines, particularly high demands are made of the proteases used therein. In addition to good stability and activity at highly alkaline pH values, proteases to be used in commercial laundry systems should have a temperature stability which is sufficiently high to produce good washing results for the particular laundering cycle at low concentration for the maximum length of time at the high temperatures which prevail in commercial laundry methods. In addition, the alkaline proteases used should have minimum sensitivity to the detergent ingredients customary in commercial laundry methods, such as, for example, surfactants, bleaches, or disinfectants. Thus, there has remained a need for alkaline proteases which are suitable for commercial laundry methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It was therefore the object of the present invention to provide a textile laundering method which employs new alkaline proteases particularly suitable for use under the conditions encountered in commercial laundry systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide detergent compositions which comprise new alkaline proteases particularly suitable for use under the conditions encountered in commercial laundry systems.

These and other objects of the invention have been achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing a method of laundering a soiled textile comprising washing the textile in the presence of a detergent formulation comprising at least one conventional detergent ingredient and at least one alkaline protease selected from the group consisting of

a) protease secreted by the Bacillus strain DSM 6845, and

b) protease secreted by the Bacillus strain DSM 5466 and having an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one amino-acid replacement selected from the group consisting of Q12R, N42R, N74R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P, and T249R.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the objects have also been achieved by providing a detergent composition suitable for commercial laundry methods comprising at least one conventional detergent ingredient and at least one alkaline protease selected from the group consisting of a) alkaline Bacillus protease from Bacillus strain DSM 6845, and b) alkaline Bacillus protease from Bacillus strain DSM 5466 having an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one amino-acid substitution selected from the group consisting of Q12R, N42R, N74R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P and T249R.

It has now been found that the alkaline bacillus proteases described hereinafter can be used with high wash efficiency in commercial laundry methods. The invention there-ore relates to the use of alkaline proteases in compositions for commercial laundry methods, wherein at least one alkaline protease selected from the group of alkaline bacillus proteases from

a) the Bacillus strain DSM 6845 and/or

b) the Bacillus strain DSM 5466 with an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one of the amino-acid replacements Q12R, N42R, N74R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P, T249R

is used.

These alkaline bacillus proteases have molecular weights in the range from 26,000 to 28,000 g/mole, measured by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis comparing with reference proteins of known molecular weight. Their pH optimum is in the range from 8 to 13.0. As used herein, the term "pH optimum" refers to the pH range in which the proteases display maximum proteolytic activity. These alkaline bacillus proteases also exhibit good pH stability.

Alkaline bacillus proteases from the bacillus strain deposited in the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen on Dec. 16, 1991 under the number DSM 6845 can be obtained by cultivation of this strain from the culture supernatant.

An alkaline bacillus protease from the bacillus strain deposited in the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen on Jul. 28, 1989 under the number DSM No. 5466, which protease has an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 at the indicated positions, can be obtained in a known manner by point mutation in the amino-acid sequence as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In a preferred variant, an alkaline bacillus protease from the strain DSM 6845 which has the following properties:

(1) activity: breakdown of proteins and peptides;

(2) pH optimum: approximately at pH values of 8.5-13.0,

(3) pH stability: the protease proves to be completely stable at pH values of 9.5-11.0, where "completely stable" means a remaining activity of at least 90%;

(4) temperature optimum: about 64° C.;

(5) temperature stability: the activity of the protease is not significantly impaired by incubation of the protease at temperatures up to 30° C. for 15 minutes; the remaining activity of the protease after incubation at 40° C. for 15 minutes is at least 75%,

is used.

The foregoing statement that the activity of the protease is not significantly impaired by incubation at temperatures up to 30° C. for 15 minutes is understood to mean that in comparison to the original activity of the protease, it retains a residual proteolytic activity of at least 92% after the incubation.

In another preferred variant, an alkaline bacillus protease from the strain DSM 5466 is used which has an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one of the amino-acid replacements Q12R, N42R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P or T249R, preferably by the amino-acid substitutions N42R/N114R/N115R or N42R/N114R/M216Q. The numerical values in these notations refer to the positions in the amino-acid sequence. The amino acids are identified by the one-letter codes, with the original amino acid preceding the position indicator and the inserted amino acid following the position indicator. These amino-acid replacements can be obtained in a known manner by point mutation in the amino-acid sequence as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603.

These alkaline bacillus proteases show unusually good washing performance under the conditions customary in commercial laundries, such as high pH values, short washing times and high washing temperatures. Commercial laundry processes are typically carried out at temperatures between 30° C. and 70° C. and at pH values above 11.0, particularly at pH values between 11.0 and 13.0. These proteases also show a surprisingly high resistance to inactivation by the detergent constituents customary in commercial laundry methods. Thus, these alkaline bacillus proteases can advantageously be used according to the invention in commercial large-capacity drum-type washing machines or countercurrent batch washing machines operating cyclically in response to a timer or continuously. Moreover, it is particularly advantageous for the alkaline bacillus proteases to be added to the washing solution in the prewash step in so-called multi-solution methods, for example dual wash cycles composed of prewash step and clear-wash step. The prewashing can moreover be carried out under the conditions customary in commercial laundry methods, for example at temperatures from 30 to 70° C. in a known manner with the detergent ingredients customarily used in this laundering cycle. Where the contaminants have a high protein content, for example heavily blood-spotted laundry from hospitals, large kitchens or meat-processing operations, the proteases of the invention optionally can be used very successfully in a prerinse step, which precedes the prewash step, with clear cold or recycled hot water and the other detergent ingredients customary for this purpose. It is, of course, also possible for these alkaline bacillus proteases to be used according to the invention in all other commercial laundry methods, for example in commercial laundry methods suited to particular types of textiles and soils, such as, for example, in the disinfecting laundering of textiles from the hospital sector.

The invention furthermore includes within its scope compositions for commercial laundry methods which contain at least one alkaline bacillus protease from

a) the Bacillus strain DSM 6845 and/or

b) the Bacillus strain DSM 5466 with an amino-acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one of the amino-acid substitutions Q12R, N42R, N74R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P or T249R.

The compositions according to the invention preferably contain an alkaline bacillus protease from the Bacillus strain DSM 6845 which is characterized by the properties described above.

In a variant which is likewise preferred, the compositions according to the invention contain an alkaline bacillus protease from the strain DSM 5466 with an amino-. acid sequence which differs from the amino-acid sequence of FIG. 1 by at least one of the amino-acid substitutions Q12R, N42R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P, T249R, in particular by the amino-acid replacements N42R/N114R/N115R or N42R/N114R/M216Q.

The alkaline bacillus proteases which should preferably be used in the compositions according to the invention are those which have an enzyme activity of 50,000 to 1,000,000 DU per gram of enzyme preparation. As used herein, the term "DU" refers to the enzymatic activity in Delft units, where 1000 DU correspond to the proteolytic activity which, with a volume of 1 ml of a 2% (W/W) strength enzyme solution, gives after breakdown of casein an extinction difference (1 cm path length; 275 nm; determination with blank sample test as reference) of 0.4000. Moreover, these alkaline bacillus proteases can be used in the formulations customary for commercial laundry methods either individually or in combination with one another, and optionally also in combination with conventional detergent proteases or other detergent enzymes customary in commercial laundry formulations, such as, for example, amylases, lipases, pectinases, nucleases, oxidoreductases etc. In the detergent formulations according to the invention, the content of these bacillus proteases should preferably be 0.1 to 5% by weight, in particular 0.2 to 2.0% by weight, with respect to the dry matter of the overall composition.

The compositions according to the invention may take the form of complete heavy duty detergents, individual detergents, and/or prewash or prerinse compositions, which are conventional for commercial laundry methods. It is moreover possible, depending on the type of detergent, for all the detergent ingredients customary in the state of the art, such as surfactants, bleaches, builders, laundry aids, optical brighteners and other customary components such as, for example, sodium carbonate, metasilicate, orthophosphate or sodium triphosphate, to be present in customary amounts. Other examples of possible detergent ingredients include boosters, enzyme stabilizers, soil suspending agents and/or compatibilizers, completing and chelating agents, foam regulators and additives such as corrosion inhibitors, anti-static agents, perfumes, disinfectants, bleach activators, peracid bleach precursors and anti-greying agents.

The detergent compositions according to the invention are preferably prewash compositions as are used in commercial laundry methods in the temperature range from 30 to 70° C. in so-called multi-solution methods, for example in dual wash cycles comprising a prewash step and a clear-wash step. In addition to these alkaline bacillus proteases, the prewash compositions according to the invention can contain all ingredients customary for this purpose in the commercial sector, such as, for example, nonionic surfactants, phosphates, carbonates, silicates, and if desired perborates and/or bleach activators, anti-greying agents, polycarboxylates, optical brighteners and, optionally further buffer substances and auxiliaries. It is also possible to use commercially obtainable detergent formulations to which the alkaline bacillus proteases of the invention have been added in the stated amounts. If desired, these commercially obtainable formulations may also contain oxygen-based bleaches. Examples of suitable commercially available detergent formulations for the commercial sector include the products sold under the designations TEN-COLOR™ or TENAX CONC.™.

The detergent compositions according to the invention can be formulated in a known manner in powder form, for example in the form of granules, prills or pellets, and if desired also provided with surface coatings. Because of their good stability, the bacillus proteases of the invention can also be used in liquid formulations.

Under the conditions customary in commercial laundry methods, such as highly alkaline pH values, for example pH values above 11.0, and high washing temperatures of up to 70° C., the alkaline bacillus proteases of the invention exhibit surprisingly good washing properties. This is all the more surprising since, in comparison to conventional household washing machines, the countercurrent laundry systems used in commercial laundries often operate completely continuously, which usually means that only relatively short washing times are available. Besides high temperature resistance, the alkaline bacillus proteases of the present invention additionally exhibit high enzyme stability in the presence of the customary ingredients of commercial detergents. When used in accordance with the invention, these alkali bacillus proteases are also stable with respect to the bleaches customarily used in the commercial sector, for example, in commercial disinfecting detergents for the hospital sector, in particular with respect to oxygen bleach concentrates, for example based on perborate or hydrogen peroxide.

The following Examples are intended to illustrate the invention in further detail without restricting its scope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in further detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a listing of the amino-acid sequence (SEQ ID NO. 2) of the alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466).

FIG. 2 is graph of the temperature optimum of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 (DSM 6845).

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the temperature stability of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 (DSM 6845).

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the pH optimum of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 (DSM 6845).

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the pH stability of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 (DSM 6845).

EXAMPLES

The sequencing of the amino-acid sequence, shown in FIG. 1, of the alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) via determination of the corresponding nucleotide sequence is described in Examples 1 to 4 in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The bacterial strain named Bacillus sp. MF12 strain was deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen (DSM) on Dec. 16, 1991 under the number DSM 6845. The Bacillus alcalophilus strain named Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 was deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen (DSM) on Jul. 28, 1989 under the number DSM 5466.

Example 1 Preparation of Alkaline Proteases Modified by Mutations in the Amino-Acid Sequence.

The preparation of alkaline proteases which differ from the amino-acid sequence shown in FIG. 1, of the alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) by at least one of the amino-acid substitutions Q12R, N42R, N74R, N114R, N115R, Q135R, M216Q, N237P or T249R was carried out in a known manner by directed mutagenesis in partial DNA sequences of the corresponding protease gene. The numerical values in this notation system refer to the corresponding amino-acid position in the amino-acid sequence shown in FIG. 1, with the position indicator being preceded by the one letter code for the original amino acid and followed by the one letter code for the inserted amino acid. The method of directed mutagenesis for the aforementioned mutations is described in detail in Examples 5 to 18 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603. With regard to the amino-acid replacements in positions 42, 114, 216 and 249, additional reference may also be made to published German Patent Application No. DE 4,304,161 [=CA 2,115,465 and U.S. Ser. No. 08/195,721, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference].

In principle, the method comprised the following known method steps: Chromosomal DNA was isolated from the natural isolate Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) by the method of Saito et al. [Biochim. Biophys. Acta 72:619-629 (1963)] and was partially hydrolyzed with the restriction endonuclease Sau3A. The restriction fragments were fractionated by electrophoresis, and the fragments with a size of 3 to 8 kilobases (kb) were isolated. The isolated and size-selected DNA fragments from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 were recombined in vitro in a known manner with vector DNA of the known plasmid pUB 110. Protoplasts of the strain Bacillus subtilis BD224 (Bacillis Genetic Stock Center 1A46) were transformed with the resulting in vitro recombinant DNA by the method described by S. Chang and N. Cohen [Mol. Gen. Genet. 168:111-115 (1979)]. The transformants were selected on plates with neomycin. The plasmid DNA was isolated from a clone as described in Maniatis et al. [Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1982)]. The fragment, contained in this plasmid, from the B. alcalophilus DNA had a size of 4.1 kb and contained the complete DNA sequence for the highly alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) (compare Examples 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603)

The plasmid containing the complete DNA sequence for the highly alkaline protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) was restricted with AvaI. The protruding ends were filled in in a known manner (see Maniatis et al., p. 114) to give the DNA double strand. After subsequent restriction of this DNA with XbaI, the N-terminal fragment comprising 1618 base pairs (bp) was isolated and cloned into the vector pBS in a known manner. The resulting vector contained the N-terminal end of the DNA coding for the amino-acid sequence depicted in FIG. 1 (compare Example 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603).

A vector which contained a DNA fragment comprising 658 bp and coding for the C-terminal end of the corresponding protease was produced in an analogous manner. For this purpose, the plasmid containing the complete DNA sequence was cut with the restriction endonucleases XbaI and Asp718 and cloned into the appropriate cleavage site of the known vector pBS (compare Example 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603).

The directed mutations were carried out in the DNA partial sequences containing the C-terminal or the N-terminal end by the primer extension technique described by Kunkel, T. A. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:488-492 (1985)]. For this purpose, the appropriate vectors were first converted in a known manner into their uracilated single-stranded analogues by cultivating E. coli CJ236 bacteria which had been transformed with one of the two vectors and which were additionally infected with the helper phage M13 K07 (purchased from Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif.). The bacterium E. coli CJ236 is a known uracil N-glycosylase-deficient mutant which on replication of the vectors incorporates the nucleotide uracil in place of thymidine into the DNA sequence of the vector. Uracilated vectors can be advantageously used in a known manner for in vitro reactions of directed mutagenesis because, after termination of the reactions, the uracil-containing DNA single strand which was used as template to generate mutated DNA strands can be eliminated by treatment with uracil N-glycosylase. The use of these helper phages was necessary for the synthesis of the coat proteins for the resulting uracilated single-stranded vector DNA. Coated uracilated single-stranded vector DNA was secreted from the transformed host organism E. coli CJ236 and subsequently isolated from the culture medium.

The isolated, uracilated DNA single strand vectors of the respective C-terminal or N-terminal end were hybridized with synthetic oligonucleotides which contained a mutation site and were simultaneously used as primers for the subsequent completion to the complete DNA double strand with mutation. The synthetic oligonucleotides used in this case were prepared in a known manner by the method of Beaucage, S. L. and Caruthers, M. H. [Tetrahedron Letters 22:1859-62 (1981)]. The second DNA strand was synthesized in a known manner using T4 DNA polymerase and subsequent ligation with T4 DNA ligase [Kunkel et al., Methods in Enzymol. 154:367-82 (1987)]. The resulting double-stranded vector DNA was transformed into E. coli MC 1061, and the mutated vectors were identified by checking the appropriate unique restriction endonuclease recognition sites which had been introduced or deleted with the synthetic oligonucleotides.

To produce, for example, two mutations either in the N-terminal or in the C-terminal part of the protease DNA, the first mutation was produced as described above and then the method was repeated in an analogous manner using another synthetic oligonucleotide to introduce a second mutation.

Expression vectors with mutations in the C-terminal part or N-terminal part of the protease DNA sequence were prepared by cutting the DNA sequences obtained by the directed mutagenesis with restriction endonucleases and ligating them to vector DNA which contained the corresponding other terminal part of the DNA sequence and all the elements necessary for expression. The resulting vectors represented complete expression vectors with a suitable reading frame for expressing the appropriately mutated mutase. The preparation of the expression vectors is described in detail in Example 16 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603. Expression vectors were prepared for the following mutations:

DSM 5466 Mut. N114R/M216Q

DSM 5466 Mut. N115R/Q315R

DSM 5466 Mut. N42R/N114R/M216Q

DSM 5466 Mut. N42R/N114Q/N115Q

DSM 5466 Mut. N114R/N237P

DSM 5466 Mut. N42R/N114R

DSM 5466 Mut. Q12R/N42R/N114R

DSM 5466 Mut. N114R/N237P/T249R

DSM 5466 Mut. Q12R/N42R/N114R

The mutated highly alkaline proteases were obtained by transforming B. subtilis BD 224 with a respective one of the aforementioned expression vectors in a known manner. The mutated highly alkaline proteases were isolated by known methods from the culture supernatants from these transformed strains. Detailed information on the isolation of the mutated proteases is found in Examples 16 and 18 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,603.

The alkaline proteases obtained by mutating the amino acid sequence of the protease from Bacillus alcalophilus HA1 (DSM 5466) were used in washing tests described in Example 3.

Example 2 Isolation of an Alkaline Protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845.

50 ml of Luria broth pH 9.5 (10 g of yeast extract, 5 g of Tryptone, 5 g of NaCl and 50 ml of carbonate buffer ad 1000 ml of double-distilled water) in a 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask with 3 baffles were inoculated with a single colony of the strain Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 (grown on P8A agar plates) and incubated at 37° C. and 240 rpm for 16 hours. 50 ml of main culture medium (soya 2%; starch 5%; corn steep liquor 1%, carbonate buffer 50 ml (Na₂ CO₃ 4.2%)) in a 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask with 3 baffles were inoculated with 2.5 ml of this culture and incubated at 37° C. and 240 rpm for 48 hours.

The activity of the protease was determined in Delft units (DU). 1000 DU is the proteolytic activity which, with a volume of 1 ml of a 2% (w/w) strength enzyme solution, gives after breakdown of casein an extinction difference (1 cm path length; 275 nm; determination with blank sample test as reference) of 0.4000.

The proteolytic activity in the culture supernatant obtained by centrifugation at 27,000×g for 15 minutes was 5000 DU/ml after 48 hours.

The temperature optimum of the proteases contained in the culture supernatants was determined in the range from 40 to 72° C. The results are shown in Table 1 and in FIG. 2.

The temperature optimum of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 is at 64° C.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Temperature optimum of the alkaline protease from                                Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845                                                       % Activity as a function of the                                              temperature in ° C.                                                           40° C.                                                                          50° C.                                                                          55° C.                                                                        60° C.                                                                          64° C.                                                                        72° C.                      ______________________________________                                         18%     37%       53%     74%     100%  76%                                    ______________________________________                                    

To determine the temperature stability, the protease-containing supernatant was incubated at various temperatures for 15 minutes and subsequently the remaining activity was determined. The results are shown in Table 2 and in FIG. 3.

The protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 is stable up to 31° C. (remaining activity>90%) and still shows a remaining activity of 58% after incubation at 50° C. for 15 minutes.

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                                    Remaining proteolytic activity in %                                   Temperature after incubation at various                                        [° C.] temperatures for 15 minutes                                    ______________________________________                                         4          100                                                                   20 98                                                                          31 92                                                                          40 79                                                                          50 58                                                                          60 25                                                                        ______________________________________                                    

To determine the pH optimum of the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845, the activity was determined at various pH values. The pH was adjusted with phosphate buffer (0.1 M) in the pH range 5.0 to 7.0, with tris-HCl buffer (0.1 M) in the pH range 7.0 to 9.0, and with glycine-NaOH buffer (0.1 M) in the pH range 9.0 to 13.0. The activity values determined are shown in FIG. 4.

The pH optimum of the alkaline protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 is around pH 12. The activity is still greater than 90% at pH 13.

To investigate the pH stability, the protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 was incubated in buffers having various pH values at 4° C. for 24 hours. The remaining activity of the proteases was then determined. Phosphate buffer (0.1 M) was used for the pH range from 5 to 7.1, tris-HCl buffer (tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer) (0.1 M) was used for the pH range from 7.5 to 9, and glycine/sodium hydroxide buffer (0.1 M) was used for the pH range from 9 to 12.1. The result is shown in FIG. 5.

The alkaline protease from Bacillus sp. MF12 DSM 6845 still has a minimum of 70% activity remaining after the 24-hour incubation in the entire pH range, and is completely stable around pH 11.

Example 3 Washing Tests Under Conditions Customary in Commercial Laundry Methods.

Washing tests were carried out with soiled test fabric under conditions customary in commercial methods. The test fabrics used were a polyester/cotton blend fabric purchased from the eidgenussische Materialprufungsanstalt, St. Gallen, Switzerland (EMPA117) soiled with blood, milk and India ink, a polyester/cotton blend fabric of our own manufacture (EY-PC) soiled with egg yolk and India ink, and a polyester/cotton blend fabric of our own manufacture (M-PC) soiled with milk and India ink. Washing was carried out in Zelltex Polycolor laboratory washing machines using as basic detergent formulations the prewash compositions which are customary in the commercial sector and are obtainable under the proprietary names TEN COLOR™ and TENAX CONC.™ (manufactured by J. P. Haas, Steinau, Germany). Washing was carried out in the temperature range from 15° C. to 60° C. for 45 minutes (temperature increased from 15° C. to 60° C. at a rate of 2° C./min. and then maintained at 60° C. for 22.5 min) or in the temperature range from 15° C. to 65° C. for 25 minutes (temperature increased from 15° C. to 65° C. at a rate of 5° C./min. and then maintained at 65° C. for 15 min.). The water hardness was 15° German hardness; the enzyme concentration was 0.71 mg of pure protease per liter of washing solution. The test fabric was exposed to the enzyme-containing detergent solution in a rotating sample vessel chamber which was controlled by a water bath in accordance with the temperature program. After the washing process the test fabric was rinsed twice with deionized water and then ironed.

The washing performance of the proteases was determined by measuring the reflectance of the washed test fabric using a reflectance photometer. The reflectance of the test fabric washed only with the basic detergent formulation was likewise measured. The difference between these two reflectance values is called the ΔR value and is a measure of the washing performance of the particular protease. For comparison with proteases heretofore used in detergent formulations for commercial laundry systems, all the washing tests were likewise carried out under identical conditions with the protease which is commercially available under the proprietary name Opticlean™.

Table 3 shows the washing performances of the proteases used according to the invention with a bleach-free detergent formulation for commercial laundry methods commercially available under the proprietary name TENAX CONC.™

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Washing performance of proteases used according to the                           invention on test fabric EMPA117 using a bleach-free prewash                   formulation for commercial laundry methods.                                    Washing conditions: 15-60° C. (2° C./min, kept at              60° C. for                                                                22.5 min), wash time 45 min, pH 11.5                                           Enzyme dosage: 0.71 mg/l                                                                              EY-PC  M-PC                                              EMPA117 with egg with milk Total                                              Protease ΔR yolk ΔR ΔR ΔR                            ______________________________________                                         Opticlean ™                                                                             13.43    3.41     4.21   21.05                                                                               100%                                   DSM5466 Mut. 12.07 6.15 4.97 23.19 110%                                        N114R/M216Q                                                                    DSM5466 Mut. 14.12 3.38 5.77 23.27 111%                                        N115R/Q135R                                                                    DSM5466 Mut. 13.14 6.81 7.66 27.61 131%                                        N42R/N114R/M216Q                                                               DSM5466 Mut. 13.92 8.01 6.22 28.15 134%                                        N42R/N114R/N115R                                                               MF12 DSM 6845 17.31 9.32 5.27 31.90 152%                                     ______________________________________                                    

Table 4 shows the washing performance of the proteases used according to the invention with a detergent formulation for commercial laundry methods commercially available under the proprietary name TEN-COLOR™ which contains oxygen-based bleach (perborate).

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Washing performance of proteases according to the invention                      used on test fabric EMPA117 using a detergent formulation                      for commercial textile laundry methods with bleach.                            Washing conditions: 15-60° C. (2° C./min, kept at              60° C. for                                                                22.5 min), wash time 45 min, pH 11.5                                           Enzyme dosage: 0.71 mg/l                                                                               EY-PC                                                   EMPA117 with egg yolk Total                                                   Protease ΔR ΔR ΔR                                          ______________________________________                                         Opticlean ™                                                                              12.35    5.09        17.44                                                                               100                                       DSM 5466 Mut. 12.92 5.55 18.47 106%                                            N114R/N237P                                                                    DSM 5466 Mut. 13.49 5.12 18.61 107%                                            N42R/N114R                                                                     DSM 5466 Mut. 13.66 5.04 18.70 107%                                            Q12R/N42R/N114R                                                                DSM 5466 Mut. 14.32 4.69 19.01 109%                                            N114R/N237P/T249R                                                              DSM 5466 Mut. 11.66 7.40 19.06 109%                                            N42R/N114R/M216Q                                                               DSM 5466 Mut. 18.44 6.7 25.14 144%                                             N42R/N114R/N115R                                                               MF12 DSM 6845 13.16 7.72 20.88 120%                                          ______________________________________                                    

The high reflectance values of the proteases used according to the invention demonstrate their high washing performance on protein-soiled fabric under the conditions customary in commercial laundry methods (high alkaline pH values, kept at high temperatures for long times).

In addition to the tests of washing efficiency on the test fabric EMPA117, washing tests were also carried out with the test fabric EY-PC soiled with egg yolk/India ink and with the test fabric M-PC soiled with milk/India ink. The washing test conditions also were made more severe in that the heating rate was increased to 5° C./min and the wash solution was then maintained at a temperature of 65° C. for 15 min. The bleach-containing detergent formulation TEN-COLOR™ for commercial laundry methods was likewise used in these washing tests. Table 5 shows the results obtained in these tests.

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         Washing performance of proteases according to the invention                      used on test fabrics EMPA117, EY-PC and M-PC with a bleach-                    containing commercial laundry detergent formulation.                           Washing conditions: 15-65° C. (5° C./min, kept at              65° C. for                                                                15 min), washing time 25 min                                                   Enzyme dosage: 0.71 mg/l                                                                      EMPA117  EY-PC M-PC   Total                                     Protease ΔR ΔR ΔR ΔR                                 ______________________________________                                         Opticlean ™                                                                              9.10     3.46    1.82   14.38                                                                               100%                                   DSM 5466 Mut. 14.84 5.13 2.85 22.82 159%                                       N42R/N114R/N115R                                                               DSM 5466 Mut. 9.10 6.48 4.56 20.14 140%                                        N42R/N114R/M216Q                                                               MF12 DSM 6845 9.51 7.33 3.45 20.29 141%                                      ______________________________________                                    

It can be seen from Tables 3 through 5 that the proteases used according to the invention exhibit very good washing performance on various types of fabric soiled with different protein contaminants. Moreover, there is virtually no detectable impairment of the enzyme stability by the highly alkaline medium of the washing solution, by the high washing temperature and/or by the bleach. Furthermore, exceptionally good washing performance is obtained with a short washing time of only 25 min. These results show the particularly high suitability of the proteases of the present invention for use in commercial laundry methods.

The foregoing description and examples have been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and are not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                    - -  - - <160> NUMBER OF SEQ ID NOS: 2                                         - - <210> SEQ ID NO 1                                                         <211> LENGTH: 2280                                                             <212> TYPE: DNA                                                                <213> ORGANISM: Bacillus alcalophilus                                          <220> FEATURE:                                                                 <221> NAME/KEY: CDS                                                            <222> LOCATION: (859)..(1998)                                                  <220> FEATURE:                                                                 <221> NAME/KEY: mat.sub.-- peptide                                             <222> LOCATION: (1192)                                                         <220> FEATURE:                                                                 <221> NAME/KEY: sig.sub.-- peptide                                             <222> LOCATION: (859)..(1191)                                                   - - <400> SEQUENCE: 1                                                          - - ctcgggaagc cgatttgcta ctgcatgtcg tcgattattc aaatgaacgc ca -             #tcgcgaaa     60                                                                  - - tggcaaagac gacaaatgaa acactccagg caatggaaat cgatcgcccg at -             #gatttatg    120                                                                  - - tttacaacaa aatggatcaa gtgaaagacg cgtttcctca agcgcatggc ac -             #gagctgtt    180                                                                  - - tatatcagct aaggctaaac aagggcttga tttattagca cagaaaatag ca -             #agctatgt    240                                                                  - - ttttcaagat tttgaaaaac atctgttcat cattccttat cgtgacgggg ag -             #gcggctgc    300                                                                  - - ttatttaaac aaccatgccc atgtccacac acagcgtgct gaggaggacg gc -             #tggcatat    360                                                                  - - cgttgccgat ttgcatgaac gagacttaaa acgggttgaa agctactgtg tt -             #tcaaaaga    420                                                                  - - acgataatga aaaaagccat ttgaatgctt cttgttcaaa tggctttttg gc -             #gactatgg    480                                                                  - - tagacagatg aacacttgtt tcgctgtttt acgacaaaga tcatcttgcc tg -             #ttacgcgt    540                                                                  - - tttttaaatc cgttttcgca cgttcaattg tcgccgagtc gtaccagtcg ct -             #gtaagtga    600                                                                  - - gaatatgttt agaaagccgc gtatttaagc gcagtctttt tcgttctgta ct -             #ggctggtt    660                                                                  - - tgtggacagt ttccataccc atcaacctcc ttttatttgt agctttcccc ac -             #ttgaaacc    720                                                                  - - gttttaatca aaaacgaagt gagaagattc agttaactta acgttaatat tt -             #gtttccca    780                                                                  - - ataggcaaat ctttctaact ttgatacgtt taaactacca gcttggacaa gt -             #tggtataa    840                                                                  - - aaatgaggag ggaaccga atg aag aaa ccg ttg ggg aaa - #att gtc gca agc           891                                                                                          - #  Met Lys Lys Pro Leu Gly Lys Ile Val - #Ala Ser                            - #     -110            - #    -105                           - - acc gca cta ctc att tct gtt gct ttt agt tc - #a tcg atc gca tcg gct           939                                                                        Thr Ala Leu Leu Ile Ser Val Ala Phe Ser Se - #r Ser Ile Ala Ser Ala           100                -95 - #                -90 - #                -85             - - gct gaa gaa gca aaa gaa aaa tat tta att gg - #c ttt aat gag cag gaa           987                                                                        Ala Glu Glu Ala Lys Glu Lys Tyr Leu Ile Gl - #y Phe Asn Glu Gln Glu                            -80  - #               -75  - #               -70               - - gct gtc agt gag ttt gta gaa caa gta gag gc - #a aat gac gag gtc gcc          1035                                                                        Ala Val Ser Glu Phe Val Glu Gln Val Glu Al - #a Asn Asp Glu Val Ala                        -65      - #           -60      - #           -55                   - - att ctc tct gag gaa gag gaa gtc gaa att ga - #a ttg ctt cat gaa ttt          1083                                                                        Ile Leu Ser Glu Glu Glu Glu Val Glu Ile Gl - #u Leu Leu His Glu Phe                    -50          - #       -45          - #       -40                       - - gaa acg att cct gtt tta tcc gtt gag tta ag - #c cca gaa gat gtg gac          1131                                                                        Glu Thr Ile Pro Val Leu Ser Val Glu Leu Se - #r Pro Glu Asp Val Asp                -35              - #   -30              - #   -25                           - - gcg ctt gaa ctc gat cca gcg att tct tat at - #t gaa gag gat gca gaa          1179                                                                        Ala Leu Glu Leu Asp Pro Ala Ile Ser Tyr Il - #e Glu Glu Asp Ala Glu           20                 - - #15                 - - #10                  - #-5        - - gta acg aca atg gcg caa tca gtg cca tgg gg - #a att agc cgt gtg caa          1227                                                                        Val Thr Thr Met Ala Gln Ser Val Pro Trp Gl - #y Ile Ser Arg Val Gln                         -1   1  - #             5     - #             10                   - - gcc cca gct gcc cat aac cgt gga ttg aca gg - #t tct ggt gta aaa gtt          1275                                                                        Ala Pro Ala Ala His Asn Arg Gly Leu Thr Gl - #y Ser Gly Val Lys Val                     15         - #         20         - #         25                       - - gct gtc ctc gat aca ggt att tcc act cat cc - #a gac tta aat att cgt          1323                                                                        Ala Val Leu Asp Thr Gly Ile Ser Thr His Pr - #o Asp Leu Asn Ile Arg                 30             - #     35             - #     40                           - - ggt ggc gct agc ttt gta cca ggg gaa cca tc - #c act caa gat ggg aat          1371                                                                        Gly Gly Ala Ser Phe Val Pro Gly Glu Pro Se - #r Thr Gln Asp Gly Asn             45                 - # 50                 - # 55                 - # 60        - - ggg cat ggc acg cat gtg gcc ggg acg att gc - #t gct tta aac aat tcg          1419                                                                        Gly His Gly Thr His Val Ala Gly Thr Ile Al - #a Ala Leu Asn Asn Ser                             65 - #                 70 - #                 75               - - att ggc gtt ctt ggc gta gcg ccg agc gcg ga - #a cta tac gct gtt aaa          1467                                                                        Ile Gly Val Leu Gly Val Ala Pro Ser Ala Gl - #u Leu Tyr Ala Val Lys                         80     - #             85     - #             90                   - - gta tta ggg gcg agc ggt tca ggt tcg gtc ag - #c tcg att gcc caa gga          1515                                                                        Val Leu Gly Ala Ser Gly Ser Gly Ser Val Se - #r Ser Ile Ala Gln Gly                     95         - #        100         - #        105                       - - ttg gaa tgg gca ggg aac aat ggc atg cac gt - #t gct aat ttg agt tta          1563                                                                        Leu Glu Trp Ala Gly Asn Asn Gly Met His Va - #l Ala Asn Leu Ser Leu                110              - #   115              - #   120                           - - gga agc cct tcg cca agt gcc aca ctt gag ca - #a gct gtt aat agc gcg          1611                                                                        Gly Ser Pro Ser Pro Ser Ala Thr Leu Glu Gl - #n Ala Val Asn Ser Ala            125                 1 - #30                 1 - #35                 1 -       #40                                                                               - - act tct aga ggc gtt ctt gtt gta gcg gca tc - #t ggg aat tca ggt         gca     1659                                                                     Thr Ser Arg Gly Val Leu Val Val Ala Ala Se - #r Gly Asn Ser Gly Ala                           145  - #               150  - #               155               - - ggc tca atc agc tat ccg gcc cgt tat gcg aa - #c gca atg gca gtc gga          1707                                                                        Gly Ser Ile Ser Tyr Pro Ala Arg Tyr Ala As - #n Ala Met Ala Val Gly                        160      - #           165      - #           170                   - - gct act gac caa aac aac aac cgc gcc agc tt - #t tca cag tat ggc gca          1755                                                                        Ala Thr Asp Gln Asn Asn Asn Arg Ala Ser Ph - #e Ser Gln Tyr Gly Ala                    175          - #       180          - #       185                       - - ggg ctt gac att gtc gca cca ggt gta aac gt - #g cag agc aca tac cca          1803                                                                        Gly Leu Asp Ile Val Ala Pro Gly Val Asn Va - #l Gln Ser Thr Tyr Pro                190              - #   195              - #   200                           - - ggt tca acg tat gcc agc tta aac ggt aca tc - #g atg gct act cct cat          1851                                                                        Gly Ser Thr Tyr Ala Ser Leu Asn Gly Thr Se - #r Met Ala Thr Pro His            205                 2 - #10                 2 - #15                 2 -       #20                                                                               - - gtt gca ggt gca gca gcc ctt gtt aaa caa aa - #g aac cca tct tgg         tcc     1899                                                                     Val Ala Gly Ala Ala Ala Leu Val Lys Gln Ly - #s Asn Pro Ser Trp Ser                           225  - #               230  - #               235               - - aat gta caa atc cgc aat cat cta aag aat ac - #g gca acg agc tta gga          1947                                                                        Asn Val Gln Ile Arg Asn His Leu Lys Asn Th - #r Ala Thr Ser Leu Gly                        240      - #           245      - #           250                   - - agc acg aac ttg tat gga agc gga ctt gtc aa - #t gca gaa gcg gca aca          1995                                                                        Ser Thr Asn Leu Tyr Gly Ser Gly Leu Val As - #n Ala Glu Ala Ala Thr                    255          - #       260          - #       265                       - - cgc taatcaataa aaaaagcctg tgcggttaaa gggcacagcg tttttttgt - #g               2048                                                                        Arg                                                                             - - tatgaatcga aaaagagaac agatcgcagg tctcaaaaat cgagcgtaaa gg -              #gctgttta   2108                                                                  - - aagctcttta cgctcgcagg tcttatcgct atacaatgga aaattcacgt ct -             #tttgactt   2168                                                                  - - tcatggcata tttatttaag tattcgtttg ctttttcgta ctctccgttt tt -             #ctggtacc   2228                                                                  - - attgcgccag ctcaattgca tagtggactg gttcttcttt attatcaagc tt - #                2280                                                                        - -  - - <210> SEQ ID NO 2                                                    <211> LENGTH: 380                                                              <212> TYPE: PRT                                                                <213> ORGANISM: Bacillus alcalophilus                                           - - <400> SEQUENCE: 2                                                          - - Met Lys Lys Pro Leu Gly Lys Ile Val Ala Se - #r Thr Ala Leu Leu Ile          -110              - #  -105               - #  -100                          - - Ser Val Ala Phe Ser Ser Ser Ile Ala Ser Al - #a Ala Glu Glu Ala Lys      95                 - - #90                 - - #85                 - -         #80                                                                               - - Glu Lys Tyr Leu Ile Gly Phe Asn Glu Gln Gl - #u Ala Val Ser Glu         Phe                                                                                              -75  - #               -70  - #               -65              - - Val Glu Gln Val Glu Ala Asn Asp Glu Val Al - #a Ile Leu Ser Glu Glu                   -60      - #           -55      - #           -50                   - - Glu Glu Val Glu Ile Glu Leu Leu His Glu Ph - #e Glu Thr Ile Pro Val               -45          - #       -40          - #       -35                       - - Leu Ser Val Glu Leu Ser Pro Glu Asp Val As - #p Ala Leu Glu Leu Asp           -30              - #   -25              - #   -20                           - - Pro Ala Ile Ser Tyr Ile Glu Glu Asp Ala Gl - #u Val Thr Thr Met Ala      15                 - - #10                  - #-5              -1   - #1         - - Gln Ser Val Pro Trp Gly Ile Ser Arg Val Gl - #n Ala Pro Ala Ala His                     5    - #              10    - #              15                   - - Asn Arg Gly Leu Thr Gly Ser Gly Val Lys Va - #l Ala Val Leu Asp Thr                20         - #         25         - #         30                       - - Gly Ile Ser Thr His Pro Asp Leu Asn Ile Ar - #g Gly Gly Ala Ser Phe            35             - #     40             - #     45                           - - Val Pro Gly Glu Pro Ser Thr Gln Asp Gly As - #n Gly His Gly Thr His        50                 - # 55                 - # 60                 - # 65        - - Val Ala Gly Thr Ile Ala Ala Leu Asn Asn Se - #r Ile Gly Val Leu Gly                        70 - #                 75 - #                 80               - - Val Ala Pro Ser Ala Glu Leu Tyr Ala Val Ly - #s Val Leu Gly Ala Ser                    85     - #             90     - #             95                   - - Gly Ser Gly Ser Val Ser Ser Ile Ala Gln Gl - #y Leu Glu Trp Ala Gly               100          - #       105          - #       110                       - - Asn Asn Gly Met His Val Ala Asn Leu Ser Le - #u Gly Ser Pro Ser Pro           115              - #   120              - #   125                           - - Ser Ala Thr Leu Glu Gln Ala Val Asn Ser Al - #a Thr Ser Arg Gly Val       130                 1 - #35                 1 - #40                 1 -       #45                                                                               - - Leu Val Val Ala Ala Ser Gly Asn Ser Gly Al - #a Gly Ser Ile Ser         Tyr                                                                                              150  - #               155  - #               160              - - Pro Ala Arg Tyr Ala Asn Ala Met Ala Val Gl - #y Ala Thr Asp Gln Asn                   165      - #           170      - #           175                   - - Asn Asn Arg Ala Ser Phe Ser Gln Tyr Gly Al - #a Gly Leu Asp Ile Val               180          - #       185          - #       190                       - - Ala Pro Gly Val Asn Val Gln Ser Thr Tyr Pr - #o Gly Ser Thr Tyr Ala           195              - #   200              - #   205                           - - Ser Leu Asn Gly Thr Ser Met Ala Thr Pro Hi - #s Val Ala Gly Ala Ala       210                 2 - #15                 2 - #20                 2 -       #25                                                                               - - Ala Leu Val Lys Gln Lys Asn Pro Ser Trp Se - #r Asn Val Gln Ile         Arg                                                                                              230  - #               235  - #               240              - - Asn His Leu Lys Asn Thr Ala Thr Ser Leu Gl - #y Ser Thr Asn Leu Tyr                   245      - #           250      - #           255                   - - Gly Ser Gly Leu Val Asn Ala Glu Ala Ala Th - #r Arg                               260          - #       265                                            __________________________________________________________________________ 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of laundering a soiled textile comprising washing said textile under commercial laundry conditions in the presence of a detergent formulation comprising at least one conventional detergent ingredient and a protease secreted by the Bacillus strain DSM 5466 and having an amino-acid sequence which differs from SEQ ID NO: 2 by at least amino-acid replacement M216Q.
 2. A method of laundering a soiled textile comprising washing said textile under commercial laundry conditions in the presence of a detergent formulation comprising at least one conventional detergent ingredient and at least one alkaline protease, wherein said protease is an alkaline bacillus protease secreted by Bacillus strain DSM 5466 and having an amino-acid sequence which differs from SEQ ID NO: 2 by a set of amino acid replacements N42R/N114R/M216Q.
 3. A detergent composition suitable for commercial laundry methods comprising at least one conventional detergent ingredient and an alkaline bacillus protease from Bacillus strain DSM 5466 having an amino-acid sequence which differs from SEQ ID NO: 2 by at least amino-acid substitution M216Q.
 4. A composition according to claim 3, wherein said at least one protease has an activity of from 50,000 to 1,000,000 DU per gram.
 5. A composition according to claim 3, comprising from 0.1 to 5.0 wt % of said at least one protease.
 6. A composition according to claim 3, further comprising an oxygen bleach. 